Taming the Beast, Sort Of
by MaeRyder
Summary: What happens when she runs? What happens when she finds the newsies? What happens when she meets Spot Conlon, King of Brooklyn? Will she be able to survive her new life as a street rat? She came from a very wealthy family, and now lives on the streets. She came from almost being in an arranged marriage to maybe falling in love with a certain Brooklyn newsie leader.
1. It's now or never!

"_Are you ready for the party, sweetie?" Her mother asked through the closed door. She looked toward the door and frowned. The answer was no, no she was not ready for the party. No, she wasn't ready to have seventy different men's hands on her. No, she wasn't read to smell the alcohol on their breaths. No, she wasn't ready to have to reject the strange lips that came towards her. No, she wasn't ready to be stared at or thrown around the dance floor. No, she wasn't ready for one man in particular to touch her. So to answer her mother's question, it was no, it was always no._

_She hated these parties. They were just for her mother to show her off. She hated being looked at like a prize, like one of these young men was going to win her and make her his property. She was no one's property. She didn't belong to anyone._

_She looked from the door to the mirror. She stood in a white plush towel around her body as well as a smaller white towel on the top of her head. She had just come out of the bath and should have been getting ready for the party that would be happening in an hour. She dreaded putting on the tight, chest crushing corset. She didn't mind the dress so much, but the corset and the heels were murder. _

_The door slowly creped open and her mother stood there, an irritated look on her face. _

"_Sophia, honestly! You must get ready!" Her mother rushed over to her closet and pulled out a pretty lavender dress. It had a beaded bodice with a sweetheart neckline. The tool that went with the dress weighed what felt like thirty pounds. She has never worn the same dress twice, and this party was no exception. _

_The heels that her mother held up made Sophia cringe. They were high and looked like they would hurt. To someone who didn't wear heels everyday of their lives, they would look intimidating. Sophia has had enough practice in heels to know that she could walk in them, the pain that came after wearing them was something she was not looking forward to. _

"_Please, Sophia do not make such ugly faces. You may develop wrinkles early." Her mother handed over the outfit to her daughter, as Sophia rolled her eyes. "No man wants an old looking wife. They want a fresh, young looking wife to come home to." Her mother walked up to her._

"_Do not roll your eyes either, it is not becoming of you. Sweetheart, you must be on your best behavior tonight. There are many young men coming and some will want to marry you. Do not make them change their minds by making such ugly faces." Sophia blew out a huff and put on a fake smile. She was used to this. It was a regular occurrence. She has been on more dates than she can count. The only man to ever get a second and third date with her, was her worst nightmare._

"_Mother, I-"_

"_Oh my! Look at the time! Towel off!" Her mother ripped off the towel and held out the under garments to Sophia. She took them and scowled, as her mothers back was turned, hovering over Sophia's dresser. She was moving some of the items that lie on the top of the piece of furniture. She made some "hmm's" and "oh no that will not do's."_

_As the slipped on the corset, Sophia noticed a necklace her mother was holding in the mirror. She whipped around and grabbed it from her. _

"_Sophia! My God!" Her mother's baffled face didn't affect her in the least. She walked across the room and put the necklace inside her journal. Walking back to her mother she noticed the time. Forty minutes until she has to walk through hell. Her mother turned her around and started tightening the corset. _

_Pulling, and grunting, and more pulling. It was the part of the routine of getting ready._

_When her mother was satisfied, which was when Sophia couldn't breathe, she handed the dress over to her daughter. Sophia quickly pulled it over her hips and had her mother zip up the back. _

_That's when she looked in the mirror. She still had the white towel on top of her head but her outfit was just what her mother wanted. She looked like a doll. A doll her mother loved to dress up and show around._

_Sophia squinted in the mirror and shook her head. She would have rolled her eyes if her mother wasn't watching._

_Her mother took down the towel and got to work on Sophia's hair. Her hair reached her lower back, but nobody would know that because her hair was always pulled back. Her mother curled it into tight, tight curls and placed most of them on the top of Sophia's head. A diamond head piece and a bunch of hair pins held the many heavy curls up. When her mother turned to the vanity, Sophia closed her eyes and inhaled._

_When she opened her eyes, she exhaled. The more her mother made her up, the less she started to look like herself._

_Makeup wasn't her favorite thing to put on. She thought she looked nice with out it, but what kind of doll would she be if she didn't have makeup on. The rouge blush that was put on made her look like she was constantly blushing, though that was the point of it. The pale pink lipstick her mother carefully put on made her lips look inviting, which was her least favorite of the makeup. The amount of men that have tried to kiss her made her shiver. _

"_Sophia, do you need a shawl?" Her mother must have noticed that she shivered. "I'm sure we can find you one to match the dress that you are wearing." _

_Sophia shook her head and smiled. _

_Her mother put the tiniest bit of eye makeup on. A little bit of mascara and eye shadow. Sophia knew that this would run if she sweats just a little bit. With the mascara her eyes looked two times bigger and the light purple eye shadow made her eyes pop. _

_Her mother stood back and smiled. She put her hands to her lips and let a little fake sob. Sophia smiled lightly and looked in the mirror, again. She looked as she always did on party nights._

_She looked picture perfect. Her hair was neatly placed on the top of her head, not a curl out of place. Her makeup brought out her eyes and pouty lips. The dress gave her more curves than she already had. The torturous heels made her look tall and elegant. The lavender dress lay perfectly on her pale skin, making her glow. She should have been impressed by the transformation, but this was a regular thing and had become boring over time._

_She didn't look like herself. She looked like a completely different person._

"_Oh darling, you look so beautiful! You will make any man very proud. Lets get down to the entrance, guests should be arriving soon." Sophia tried to smile. She turned away from the mirror, hoping that she could try to enjoy herself tonight. She knew she was wasting her time thinking that. She has never had fun at these parties. She watched the clock until the end just she could run to her room and take everything off and go to bed._

_Her mother let out a small giggle and gently pushed her out of the room and into Hell._

* * *

Rain. It was raining. No, it wasn't a light drizzle. It was a full on down pour. The rain was cold and the wind was dreadful. It was Christmas which meant it was December. December in New York was a nightmare. It was below freezing at night and the rain didn't help.

The wind she fought against felt like glass cutting her skin. She was running as fast as she could. Her legs burned and her lungs weren't getting enough oxygen. The heels she wore were not made for running and put up a fight. Her feet ached and she knew she needed to stop and rest for a little.

The tight curls in her hair were falling loose on her face. The hair pins in her hair were falling out but she could care less. Her lavender dress was stuck closely to her body. The corset under the soaking wet dress pushed on her chest and made it much more difficult to breathe, adding the fact that she didn't run much, the whole attire she wore gave her a challenge.

Her well put on makeup was running down her face. The tears falling from her eyes were mixed with the rain, the tell tale sign that she was in fact crying was her erratic breath and puffy red eyes. She knew she looked terrible, but at the moment she didn't care. She needed to get away.

She didn't know where she was going, she was most definitely lost. It was dark and the tears blurred her vision. She noticed that the buildings weren't as nice as the ones in her neighborhood. She knew she needed to get somewhere safe, some place where she could get warm and a new set of clothes. She knew she needed to get off of the streets as soon as she could. She knew she wouldn't last much longer on the dark streets of New York alone.

She started to slow down, needing to breathe just for a bit. She had never been on the streets of New York by herself, let alone by herself in the dark. She was at a slow jog and started to try to figure out where she was. Nothing looked familiar to her. Her heels were becoming unbearable, she needed to remove them. She stopped for a minute to take them off, sitting on the curb she rubbed her aching feet. They were bleeding and were badly bruised. She winced as she tried to wipe away some of the blood.

It wasn't long before her head shot up to the sound of whistles and horses closing in behind her. She grabbed her heels and started running again. The difference in running without the heels was monumental. Her feet carried her as fast as they could under the condition they were in.

She didn't know where to go to get the police off her tail. She stopped for a few seconds and took a look around her. Her frantic eyes found a dark, thin alley way. She took off for it as fast as she could.

When she turned the corner at full speed she plowed into someone. They both fell over in an ungraceful heap and groaned. By the sound that came out of the other person's mouth she figured it was a boy.

She landed on her hip and pain shot up through her side, her thigh was definitely going to have a huge bruise. She quickly got up and scurried behind a trash bin. She back was flat against the trash bin, her heart beating rapidly; she was now cornered by the police and a stranger.

He looked toward her and took her in. The sight before him was pitiful. She shook from the cold and the fear that ran through her veins. He stood up, shaking off the dirt on his pants and started toward her. The panic and fear in her eyes was what kept him captivated. He slowly knelt down in front of her and smiled slightly. He was about to speak when he heard the whistles and the horses. He looked at the entrance of the alley way towards the source of the sound. She must have heard it as well because she started to whimper. The tears flooded her face. The boy looked at her and knew he had to help. He held out his dirty, ink stained hand to her.

"Come wid me. I'll git youse somewhere safe." He said lowly. She didn't know him, how could she trust him. She looked up at him and shook her head. The horses and whistles were coming closer. She knew this was the end. The police would catch her and take her back. She looked at the end of the ally and saw the shadows of the horses. She knew the horses couldn't get into the alley but that didn't mean they wouldn't find away to get her. They would resort to coming at her on foot.

"Come on! It's now or neva!" He whispered. Her head snapped back to the boy in front of her. She could either go back with the police or take this boy's dirty hand and go with him. She didn't have much time to make a decision so he made it for her. He grabbed her hand and took off running. He wasn't going to leave this poor girl alone in the rain.

They ran through any alleyway they saw and took every back street they ended up on. The boy was the one leading and he seemed to know where he was going. She had no idea where she was but she knew the police wouldn't find her.

The boy ran much faster that the girl did but made sure she kept up. His hand never left hers. His hand was surprisingly warm considering the weather. That thought made the question why he was out in this weather in the first place. She shook her head and rid of the thought. She squeezed the boy's hand tightly, knowing if she didn't she may lose her grip.

She looked at the back of him, trying to calm herself down. She wanted to focus on anything that wasn't her being dragged back to where she just escaped. She noticed that he wasn't much taller than her. In fact, he was just about her size. He didn't look intimidating. She couldn't see to well but from what she saw back in the alley, he looked rather nice.

He wore a vest and a pocket watch, she noticed the golden chain. His pants were a bit too big for him so he wore a belt; they also scoffed the ground as he ran. He had a filthy hat on. His hands were covered in dirt and what she suspected, ink. He smelled like a mix of a cigar and newspapers.

He stopped running and pulled her into an alley. He took both of her hands while looking over her. His eyes scanned her for any injuries. He noticed that she was still shaking, but he didn't mention it. He panted just as hard as she did. Seeming satisfied he stepped back, dropping her hands.

"You'se okay?" He asked as he lit a cigar he pulled out of his pocket. The flame lit his face and she saw that he was concerned. She nodded and stared at him wide eyed. The smell of the cigar was familiar. She had smelled it from the many men at the parties her mother held just to have men look at her daughter.

She wiped her eyes and tried to get as much makeup off of her face as possible without the help of a mirror. She didn't want to look to horrible in front of the stranger that had just saved her. She wanted to thank him but she couldn't find her voice. She was in a state of shock. Her teeth chattered. She couldn't imagine how pathetic she looked.

He turned his back to her, giving her some privacy. She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She had stopped crying while they were running. She hadn't calmed down much, but the fact that she had stopped crying was good enough.

The boy looked out of the alley and motioned her to follow him with a small wave of his hand. She didn't argue, she followed the boy close behind, gripping the hand closest to her. He didn't turn around to question her, just gave her a light squeeze. She was thankful and adjusted the shoes that were in her hand.

At the sound of the heels clicking together her savior turned around. He looked directly at them and went to take them from her. She got scared and pulled away altogether. He shook his head and took a step closer.

"I'se not gonna hoit ya. I'se just wanna hold ya shoes fah you'se." He looked right in her eyes as he spoke. His eyes never left hers. She noticed this and reluctantly nodded. She slowly held out her shoes for the boy to take.

When they were near enough for him to take he slipped them out of her hands and smiled. She swallowed and tried to smile back but failed miserably. He didn't say anything about this. She seemed too scared for any humor at the moment.

"I'se gonna take you'se to weah I'se live. Is dat okay? It's safe dere. Da bulls ain't gonna find you'se dere." He spoke in a low soothing voice. He didn't want to scare her away. She looked down the alley way and back to the boy.

He helped her so far, why would he be lying about a safe place to stay? She was still skeptical. She shook her head and backed up until she hit the wall. She whimpered and started panicking. The boy took a step closer but saw that it scared her even more so he took two steps back.

"I'se wanna help you'se. I'se don't want you'se stayin' on da streets alone. It's dangerous fah you'se. Please let me'se help you'se." She looked at him, trying to see if he was lying. She didn't see his eyes shift or his lip twitch or his fingers move. He was telling the truth. She slowly stepped closer to the boy and nodded. She gave her a small smile and jerked his head as to say "follow me."

They both heard the whistles coming once again. He whipped his head around and looked at her. She stared right back at him, her lip quivering. The horses were getting closer and the pair was running out of time. The boy saw two options, either running to shelter and risk being seen, or climbing the fire escape and waiting until the police were gone.

With how close the police sounded the fire escape seemed most reasonable. He grabbed the shaking girl's hand and gently pulled her to the ladder that was a few feet away from them. He put one of her hand on the ladder and pushed her up. She quickly looked at him and shook her head.

"We'se gonna go up dere and wait 'til dey leave. We'se can't make it to da safe place wid out dem seeing us. Just climb and I'se be right 'hind you'se. I'se promise." He whispered quickly to her. She looked directly in his eyes and saw no non-sense. She started to climb with shaky hands.

When she reached the first landing she looked down. She saw the boy making his way up the ladder with her shoes in his hand. When he stood up on the same landing he motioned her to keep moving. She listened without question.

The steps were wet and slippery. Her bare feet didn't grip onto the ground underneath her and she slipped. With a small squeak, she braced herself for a fall that never came. Instead she fell on to something warm and rather soft.

"I'se catch yah if you'se fall. Don't worry." The boy chuckled a little and righted her. She blushed and started climbing once more.

Once they reached the roof, the boy looked at the girl to see of she was okay. After a quick once over, he went to the ledge of the tall building. With the rain, it was hard to see anything. He squinted and tried to listen for the hooves on the pavement or the loud whistles from the police themselves. He felt a shaking presence beside him and looked over.

"We'se just gonna stay up 'ere 'til dey is gone. It shouldn't take dat long." She looked down in the street and nodded. She was never afraid of heights but being on a tall building with a stranger was very nerve racking. She tried to keep her teeth from chattering the best she could. She didn't want to irritate the boy next to her.

She noticed that he started to light his cigar again. She just watched as he did so. When he caught her eyes, he put immediately put it out. He put it back in his packet and scratched the back of his neck.

"Sahrry, you'se must not like dat." She shook her head as to say she didn't mind but he must have seen it as "no I don't like it." He gave her a smile and looked down at the street.

The sight of horses was terrifying. Her eyes went wide and tears started forming. The boy glanced over and noticed she had gotten worked up again.

" 'ey don't worry. Dey can't see you'se up heah. Dey won't find you'se. I'se shoah a it." He gave a reassuring smile and glanced down. The police were moving on, not finding what they were looking for. When they were completely out of view, the boy tapped the girl on the elbow and motioned for her to follow him. She put up no fight and followed.

They got to the ladder and she looked down. It was high up and the stairs were slippery. She glanced up at the boy and he shifted her shoes in his hand. He looked in thought as he looked at the fire escape. She looked back down then backed away.

"Okay, I'se gonna go down foist den you follow, dat way if you'se fall, I'se be able to catch you'se. Okay?" He looked at her and nodded, confirming his plan in his head. She stared at him for just a moment before nodding.

He started the climb down but didn't go too far. He looked up at the girl and waited until she started to descend. When she did he started the climb down as well.

Reaching the bottom of the fire escape happened without any slips or falls. With feet firmly planted on the ground the boy made for the end of the alley. She followed right behind him. She still had no clue where she was and decided that the boy was there to help her not hurt her.

He turned around and looked down at her, she stared right back. He squinted a little, thinking.

"Da coast is cleah. We'se can get to my place soon. It's just 'round da cornah. Okay?" She nodded and looked ahead. He turned and started walking. She quickly caught up and grabbed his had. Like he did before he squeezed her hand lightly and continued walking.

He didn't lie when he said it was just around the corner.

He led her to a large, old building. It looked like every building surrounding it. The bricks were red underneath the layers of dirt. Looking at the building to the boy back to the building, she had a bad feeling in her stomach. She shook her head and tried to take a deep breath but it was constricted by the corset. She knew this place was shelter for tonight and she needed to push away her fears and hold her head high.

There was a sign that hung above the door. It was old and worn down. It said, "Newsboys' Lodging House." The boy walked up to door and opened it, releasing her hand. He looked at her with a slight smile. He bowed and put his hand out. She looked at him with a hint of amusement.

"Afta you Miss." He said with his head down. She locked eyes with him and she finally saw a full smile from the boy. Taking the first step towards the ratty building was hard but when she felt the warmth coming from the inside she practically ran inside.

For tonight she knew she was safe.


	2. So, who's your friend?

_Walking down the hallway was almost torture. Almost being the key word. _

_Sophia's breath became short. She needed to calm herself down or she would have had a nervous break down. She blinked her eyes rapidly. She willed the tears to hold up, to stay at bay. She didn't want to cry. She never cried in front of people. Alone in her room, well, that was a different story. She tried to keep the tears at bay, she was good at that._

_With her mother right behind her, her hand on her daughter's back, pushing, Sophia had to toughen up. She straightened her back and took longer, more elegant strides. Her dress wallowing behind her as she walked. The maids smiled at her and wished her luck quietly. _

_What did she luck for tonight? Winning a husband of course. A husband that she wouldn't be able to choose for herself. A husband that she wouldn't love, nor would she learn to love. She was going to be in an arranged marriage with a young man that her father and mother liked. Did her opinion matter? You guessed it, that was a big, fat NO!_

_Sophia didn't even try to smile back. She just looked ahead of her. Every young man that came to this party tonight was supposed to get an equal chance of winning her hand, but her mother had already picked out her favorite. Of course she picked out the one man that Sophia would voluntarily go to jail for. For what you may ask. For killing the bastard of course._

_His name was Gavin. Gavin Burns. He was Satan in human form. He wasn't worth the dirt at the bottom of Sophia's shoes. He was absolutely horrid. He was rich, of course, and he liked to show off his money. He treated everyone as if they were dirt, and if you weren't in his social class forget even speaking to the man. Sophia had many gifts from him in her room. She wouldn't touch them; in fact she shoved them into the back of her closet. She even burned a very expensive dress he had bought her for her birthday. She even spit on a necklace that he gave her, in front of everybody._

_She had made her dislike for him very clear. But her mother has never listened to Sophia, which is why Sophia rarely ever spoke. The most she has ever said in a conversation was "Hello, I'm Sophia." Her mother always cuts her off, and her father never listened to her, so why speak to him? _

_Why speak when there is nothing to be said?_

_Approaching the top of the grand stair case, Sophia spotted her father. He was a large man. His suits always tailored a brandy always in his hand and an expensive cigar always in his mouth. He spoke to people like they were below him and that didn't exclude Sophia. _

_She knew he didn't love her. She knew her mother didn't love her. She knew she was needed for them to become richer than they already were. Looking at her parents then looking at her, you would never see a resemblance._

_Sophia's mother, Gertrude, was a tall slender woman, with pin straight, golden blond hair. She had freckles along her nose, which she covered with three layers of make up. She was willowy with no natural curves, which is where the corsets came into play. Her skin was an olive color and her eyes were muddy brown. No an amber color or a warm chocolate color, shit brown. Not pretty at all. Her features were pointed and angled. _

_Her father on the other hand was fat and stocky. His name was Albert. He was short, and round, everything on the man was round. He was by no means attractive, just rich, which is why Sophia figured her mother married him. He was completely bald. Every since Sophia could remember he has always been bald. His cheeks were constantly red and his eyes were almost always squinted. When they weren't squinted, one could see that they were a pale blue color. His nose was much like a pig's and Sophia sometimes waited for a squiggly tail to pop out of his bum. His scent was something that could not be covered. A mix of sweat, heavy, musky cologne, cigars and brandy was the essence of Sophia's father. _

_Sophia was a completely different story. She had soft, curvy features. Her eyes were a bright green, a green that reminded her of the stone, jade. Sophia's hair was thick, and wavy. It was the color a milk chocolate with soft blond streaks rippling through her waves. Her skin was smooth and pale. She was rather short, but very curvy. She was thin but not boney. She was dainty, and fragile. She was nothing like her parents. _

_As she descended the brilliant stair case her father looked up at her. He smiled his chubby smile, and laughed. He held out his hand for Sophia as she approached him. His fingers were sausage like compared to Sophia's small, thin ones. _

"_My, my, you look absolutely beautiful, darlin'." Her father had a way of making an English accent absolutely unattractive to the ears. He sometimes tried to sound a bit southern, but having never been to the south he constantly failed. _

_Sophia gave a light nod to her father and cringed as her mother cleared her throat. _

_While Sophia was extremely delicate, __Gertrude_ was quite the opposite. What would have sounded gentle and sweet coming from Sophia sounded rough and a bit gross coming for _Gertrude_. Almost as if she had mucus in the back of her throat.

"_Thank you father." Sophia quietly added to satisfy her mother. When she turned to look at __Gertrude_, she found her mother nodding her approval. Sophia looked back at her father, slipping her hand from his, she turned her attention to the large wooden doors in front of her. 

_The grandfather clock chimed. It signaled the hour. The hour was 7 o'clock, and the guests would be arriving very, very soon. These guests were always punctual, never late._

_Sophia braced herself for the last night of her life as a single woman. _

_With one last deep breath, the large wooden doors began to open, signifying the arrival of the guests._

* * *

She stepped into a room with just a large desk. There were a couple of chairs, a table and two doors. Everything was covered in dust. The warmth coming from the small fire place was like heaven against her cold, wet skin. She stood looking around with her arms wrapped around herself. A shiver or two escaped from her.

There was a small book case with about nine books on it. The book case had three shelves but two of them were broken. She squinted to see what books there were but her vision was still blurry. The wood that made up the book shelves, table, chairs, and desk was old and split.

There was also a staircase. She leaned a bit toward it to see if she could see where it led to. The stairs themselves didn't look stable. They looked as if they would creak and possiblely crack under just enough stress. The railing was missing a few parts, but nothing serious. There looked like there was a door at the top of the stairs. It looked to be ajar with just little light steaming through the crack. She could see faint shadows moving back and forth on the other side. Laughter came traveling down the stairs from what sounded like five different people.

Shuffling coming from somewhere in the room she was standing in brought her attention back to where she was. An old man was sitting behind the desk. She hadn't seen him before now. He was hunched over a worn note book, a pen in hand. She looked at him carefully, not knowing whether to run or stay put.

He looked to be about sixty. The wrinkles on his forehead and crow's-feet around his eyes gave away his age. His hand shook as he pointed to the book. The veins stuck out on his hands. He wore ratty clothing and glasses. He squinted through them to read whatever he was reading out of notebook. His lips were moving but no coherent words were coming out.

What harm could he do? Maybe alert the police. She started to get scared; she shook her head and backed away.

The boy finally walked in behind her and cleared his throat. He noticed the girl backing up so he put a hand on the small of her back, pushing her gently forward. She jumped slightly but he just smiled at her. The old man looked up from the notebook in surprise. He obviously didn't see the girl standing there. Though to be fair she was pretty quiet. Only the occasional light sniffle, but other than that she was silent. He put on a weak smile and looked somewhat eagerly at the pair. As if waiting for either of the two to talk.

He bowed his head when nothing was said and sat back down.

The boy started walking up the stair case. He turned when he didn't hear her foot steps and motioned to her to move with him. She followed right behind him, staying on his heals. She was right about the stairs creaking with every step. She took tentative steps until she go to the top. She noticed that the boy just barreled up the stair without fear of them caving in.

He opened the door the rest of the way and held out his hand just like he did at the front door. He gave her a big smile and chuckled, walking into the room fully. She looked at him then looked past him. Her eyes almost popped out of her head.

At the top of the staircase was a large room with a ton of bunk beds. Not only were there dozens of beds, there were dozens of boys. They were scattered across the room. There looked to be about thirty or so boys. None of them looked older than seventeen.

As she looked around she noticed that none of the beds were made, nor was the room in any means clean. There were clothes, blankets, and pillows thrown everywhere. The beds themselves looked uncomfortable. There were holes in the blankets as well as the mattresses. She stood in the door way and looked around the whole room slowly.

The boys were spread out all across the room. They were all doing something different. Some were playing a game of what looked like poker, while some were sitting around watching the game. She looked at one boy who hand one hand under the table. Under closer inspection she noticed he was holding a card there; she raised her eyebrow and accused him of cheating, in her mind of course. She didn't say anything. She saw him slip the card in his hand with the card under the table and won the hand. He collected his winnings with a laugh. She was surprised that none of the boys sitting around the table noticed this happen. She shook her head.

She scanned the room again and saw some boys sitting on their beds, counting some change. She figured that the change was their day's earning. She knew what a newsboy was, she knew what they did. She had never seen one in person, and she was now seeing a whole lot more than she thought she ever would.

She saw some boys talking to one another, and some were in their beds attempting to sleep. While looking through the room she had lost the boy who had brought her there. She started to notice that some of the boys were looking at her. She wasn't that surprised, seeing how there was a strange wet girl standing in the door jam, but she was uncomfortable. She didn't like having attention on her and the fact that she had on a skin tight wet dress on didn't help any.

She almost started panicking, when she couldn't her "hero", for lack of a better word. She tried to keep calm and look over the room once more.

A sigh of relief escaped her when she spotted him across the room. She slowly made her way over to the table that he was sitting at. He had sat down with the boys playing poker. How hadn't she noticed him before?

He lit his cigar once again and started to puff some smoke. His eyes were closed as he shuffled the cards. She had seen her father play cards with his "buddies" one to many times to know that he wasn't doing it correctly. She moved so she was standing behind him. He shuffled them once more, incorrectly, and started dealing the cards. One of the boys at the table spoke up looking right at her.

"So, uh, Race. Who's yer friend heah?" The boy that spoke had an eye patch over his left eye. He had blond hair; he wore a white flannel with a brown scarf around his neck. Well, the shirt was supposed to be white but had some light brown stains on it. He stared right at the girl with his right eye and squinted a little. The girl started to get nervous. She didn't feel wanted and figured she would have been thrown out any minute. A shiver came over her as she tried to hide it.

All of the boys at the table looked at her with questioning eyes. Some eyes traveled length wise down her body. She shifted from one foot to the other. Those were the looks she hated.

The boy with the cigar finally spoke taking most of the attention away from her for just a moment.

"She was runnin' from da bulls. She looked like she needed help to get dem off 'er tail, so's I gladly obliged." He said with the cigar in the corner of his mouth.

A tall brown hair, brown eyed boy walked up to her slowly. She backed away just as he got closer. He wore a cowboy hat and a red bandana. His hair was greasy, but come to think of it, so were the rest of the guys' hair. He wore a white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, light grey pants and suspenders hung around his hips, instead of over his shoulder.

He looked down at the girl; he was a good foot and some odd inches taller than her. She was only about five or so feet tall. She was very short to say the least.

He looked her shaking form over. He wasn't checking her out in any way, but simply making sure she was alright. She had long; light brown hair hat had hints of blond in it. It was still partially up, though from the running she must have done, he guessed it had come down. The curls were still hanging on; though he could tell her hair wasn't curly naturally. Her eyes were bright green, like that stone, the one he couldn't think of. Her cheeks were bright pink, with black makeup running down them. Her skin was pale and looked smooth, almost porcelain.

She was also skinny, very skinny. The dress she was wearing hugged her body, and he could tell she had a figure, but come to think of it so did most of the girls he's seen. She looked fragile, almost broken. She was shaking badly, he became concerned. He couldn't figure out if she was scared or cold, though looking at her he would have had to say both.

Her eyes were wide and had fear running through them. He knew if he didn't get her out of that dress she was wearing she would become sick. He kept his distance from her, so he wouldn't scare her off.

The whole room was silent. They watched the "cowboy" and the girl stand off. No one moved or spoke.

"Who're youse?" He eventually broke the silence in the room. She just looked at him. She didn't speak. Not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't find her voice, once again. Her mouth parted slightly but she snapped it shut.

His eyes were focused on hers. They weren't harsh, they were a soft brown. They reminded her of hot chocolate. They were warm and what she detected concerned. She broke the stare and looked down.

He understood that she didn't want to talk. He knew she wouldn't talk if he forced her to. He was going to have to take it slow. He kept his eyes on her just in case she were to look up at him again.

He almost felt bad for her. Her shaking hadn't let up and he knew it was important to get her out of that dress.

He looked at the outfit she was in and made a face. He was impressed that she ran in what she was wearing. Some of the boys here couldn't run in pants, he gave her props. Maybe he should have them run in a dress for punishment. That sounded like a good idea.

He then looked down at her feet; he smiled a bit when he saw her toes sticking out from under the purple fabric. He looked back at her face and found her looking back at him. She shifted from her left foot to her right. He could tell she was nervous.

"Weah ah ya shoes?" He chuckled quietly. She looked passed him towards the table where the poker game was, though the game wasn't going on. The boys were watching the two. The boy standing in front of her turned to where she was looking. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked back at her. She still stared at the table. Trying again he turned at looked at the table.

"Race, do you'se have 'er shoes?" he questioned, he didn't think he would get a yes. Race's face lit up and he nodded while saying "Yeah!" He held up the heels that he had took form her while they were running. Jack nodded and looked back at the girl to find that she was once again looking at him.

Her eyes were unnerving, he noticed. They were such a pretty color, but they looked past your eyes and into your head. He felt as if she could read his mind, but that was impossible. Her eyes were so familiar. He thought he may have seen them before. The fear that was laced with sadness in her eyes seemed all too familiar. He shook his head and remembered that she was cold.

He walked up to a dark skinned boy and spoke quietly to him. The room hadn't made a sound, since the "cowboy" spoke, aside from her savior, or Race as everyone seemed to be calling him. The girl looked around and noticed all of the boys looked at the "cowboy" with awe. He seemed to have some power.

She watched him talk to the younger boy. The younger of the two didn't look like he was putting up an argument. He was just nodding. The young boy went under his bed and grabbed a pair of small brown boots. The older of the two went up to another small kid and talked to him the same way. The same as before, the younger boy wasn't arguing he was just nodding. The older boy went over to a bed and pulled out a shirt and walked over to the girl. He held out the clothing to the girl. She looked at him then looked at the clothing then looked back at him. He looked like he just got an idea and smiled to himself.

"Silly me, Ise forgot socks." He turned around and walked over the dark skinned boy, who gladly gave the taller boy a pair of socks to the "cowboy" and the he walked over to the girl for the last time, this time a little more confident, and held out the clothes. She looked at the clothes and slowly took them. The boy pointed to a door which the girl guessed was a wash room. She held the clothes away from her wet body, not wanting them the get wet.

"Youse can get changed in there; I'll keep all da boys out fah ya. Dere's a brush in there, along wid some soap so youse can wash off da makeup." The tall boy had a heavy New York accent.

She slowly turned around and headed to where he pointed. She turned back to look at the "cowboy" only to find him nodding to her. She turned and walked toward the door.

She walked into the washroom and set the clothes down on the counter. She looked in the mirror and squeaked. She looked terrible! Her eyes went wide in shock. Her makeup was everywhere! Her mascara made its way all the way down to her neck. Her blush ran down her checks. Her eyeliner made her look like a raccoon. She was so embarrassed. What did those boys think of her? They must have thought she wasn't all that pretty.

Though thinking about it, maybe she should try to look not as nice as she normally did. Maybe she should try to look bad. Maybe that would make the guys stop looking at her and give her unwanted attention.

She sighed and grabbed the bar of soap, lathered in her hands and scrubbed. She scrubbed her face until all of the make up was gone, until her face was raw. A new pinkness came upon her face from the vigorous scrubbing. She made sure not one bit of make up was left on her face. Satisfied she turned to her hair.

She found the brush and brushed out her hair. It was still soaking wet and dripped all over the floor. She looked around until she found a towel to semi dry her hair. Rubbing her head with the towel, hoping to dry it enough so she wouldn't get a chill, she picked up the brush.

The curls came away easily, as they were already falling, and she was left with her natural wavy hair. Her hair reached her hips and it felt good for her hair to be free. She put all of the pins that were left in her hair on the counter. The diamond head piece was placed gently down on the counter as well. She scowled at it. It was terribly uncomfortable. She scratched her head, and ran her fingers through her long locks. She hated putting her hair up, it was always itchy and it usually hurt. With her hair down, she felt so much better. Almost free.

Now, it was time for the clothes.

She looked down at them. The first thing she noticed were the pants. Pants? Did girls even wear pants? Would they even fit her? She remembered the cowboy going to all the little kids, so she figured they may fit her. She looked at them like they weren't from earth. Was she really going to wear pants? Yes, yes she was. She wanted to be unrecognizable to the police, to her mother and father, to him. She took in a deep breath.

She slipped off her dress and hung it on a bar next to her. She felt a draft come and spun towards the door. Seeing that it was still closed, she turned back towards the pants. She took off the stockings gently and put them with her dress. She wiggled her toes and smiled a bit. She noticed that there were holes on the bottom of the stockings when she looked towards them, but as she thought about it, it made sense. She ran for quite some time with no shoes, and just her bare feet, well, stocking-ed feet.

She held up the pants in front of her. She made a funny face and slipped her legs in, almost falling over in the process. She pulled them slowly over her legs, to her hips where she buttoned them. Surprisingly they fit quite nice, and they were really comfortable. She walked around the washroom for a little and was pleasantly surprised. Pants were amazing! Very much different from a dress.

She started taking off the corset that she was dying to get out of. She hated those things. They were so uncomfortable. She reached behind her and grabbed the string that held the cursed corset together. As she pulled it she felt air fill her lungs properly. She could finally breathe. She inhaled a large breath then released it. She rolled her eyes to the back of her head and smiled. The corset hit the floor with a thump and she kicked it across the room. She definitely wouldn't miss that thing.

She put on the loose fitting shirt. It was three sizes to big but she felt like she was in heaven. She had to roll up the sleeves because they went far past her hands. They would have gotten in the way of whatever she planned to do, which she wasn't sure what that was yet. She tucked the shirt into her pants because that part of it was too long as well.

None of the clothes stuck to her body, like the dresses she always wore did. As a whole she was comfortable. She didn't have that feminine figure that the dresses gave her but she didn't care in the least.

She looked puny, almost child like, in the clothes. She looked sixteen in her face, but her body looked like a twelve year old in the clothing she was wearing now. In the dresses she was accustomed to and the make up she constantly wore she normally looked about eighteen. She felt good, looking like her age.

She noticed she forgot the socks and boots so she slipped those on as well. They actually fit her almost perfectly. They were one hundred times better than the dreadful heels she always had to wear. She walked around the wash room once more and did a little happy dance.

She stopped to look at herself in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction. The reflection looking back at her was actually her. It wasn't some fake, dolled up version of her. She looked like she always wanted, minus the clothes. She wouldn't complain about the clothes though, they were so comfortable. She didn't know why women had to wear dresses. Pants and shirts were so much better.

She looked at the wet clothing that she discarded and wondered what she should do with them. She remembered the fire place downstairs and thought it would be a good idea to get rid of the clothing, burn them. She didn't want anything tracing her back to her past. If she wanted to hide she needed to be careful about it. She needed to get rid of anything that came from where she ran away from.

She nodded to herself in the mirror and turned toward the door. Exhaling a breath she didn't know she was holding, she looked at the door. Out there were the people who may turn her in or keep her safe. She hoped it was the latter. She prayed it was the latter. She took her first step towards the door then the rest followed rather quickly after.

She walked out of the washroom, only to be greeted by the "cowboy."

* * *

Please review (:


	3. What's your name?

_When she saw the first couple walk into the house, she tensed. She knew it was going to be over soon. She would meet her future husband, and be a wife to him in two months time. If that's not scary she didn't know what was._

_The couple was an elderly couple. Good, that meant no possible future husband yet._

_She smiled slightly at the elders as they walked past her. They wished her luck, much like the maids had earlier. _

_Right after they arrived there was a steady flow of guests arriving. Sophia had to greet each and every one. _

_She got a nasty look from each woman and young lady that walked through the door. As much as she would have loved to return the look, she didn't. She knew she would be scolded for it later._

_Each man that walked through the door, she received a light kiss on the hand from. By the seventeenth kiss she got grossed out. She secretly wiped the remaining saliva on her dress. _

_Standing at the door, was the relatively fun part of the night. Who said standing there couldn't be fun? Standing there, in the same spot for a half hour wasn't so bad. She shook her head. Of course this wasn't fun! This was horrible. Each time the door opened, a cold December breeze came through. She really should have taken that shawl her mother offered her earlier. _

_When her parents were sure all the guests were there they started turning to walk in the dining room. She remained where she was. She wasn't ready for dinner. She noticed Gavin hadn't come. Her night was looking just a little brighter._

_She thought to soon because the doors opened for the last time, and in the devil walked._

_Sophia's nightmare. She literally had nightmares about the bastard. He haunted her dreams and sometimes her thoughts. She knew she was going to have to marry him. She knew she would be miserable for the rest of her life because of it. _

_He walked in with confidence. He had a cocky swagger about him. He reeked of arrogance. There were not enough words to describe the hatred Sophia had for this man. _

_He waltz right up to her and grabbed her hand. He brought it up to his lips and lightly kissed it, much like the rest of the men had done. Though Gavin let his lips linger for a second longer. A second to long._

_Sophia ripped her hand away. When she wiped her hand on her dress this time, she didn't hide it. She made a point of showing how disgusted she was by the man standing in front of her. _

_His smile faltered, but he regained control of his face quickly. He tried to link arms with Sophia, but she would have none of it. She walked off ahead of him and her parents. She walked straight into the dining room to join the rest of the guests._

_She walked with her head held high, and sat in her usual seat. She usually sat to the left of her father, who sat at the head of the table. As she sat down she noticed an empty seat next to hers. She mentally slapped her forehead. Of course her parents would seat him next to her._

_She put her hands in her lap and looked down. She had to regain control of her temper. She wasn't going to let him affect her anymore. She was going to ignore him. She knew her mother would yell at her later but she didn't care. It would be well worth it._

_When her mother and father walked in, she noticed her mother openly glaring at her. She wasn't hiding it at all. She would probably look at her like the rest of dinner; she sat right across from her. Gavin walked in and took his seat to the left of Sophia. _

_She kept her eyes looking down. She didn't want to look at him. Her hands twitched slightly. She clenched and unclenched her fists. She didn't want Gavin to notice the affect he had on her. It wasn't a positive affect what so ever. She didn't want him to see that he bothered her. She would be strong, and focus on anything but the man sitting next to her._

_Albert rose from his seat to address his guests. Everyone looked up at the short fat man standing at the head of the table. He smiled, and cleared his throat._

"_Welcome, welcome. My friends I do hope you have a grand evenin' tonight. Gertrude and I have been planning this gathering of friends for quite some time." He looked toward his wife with adoration in his eyes. She tried to match the feeling, but Sophia could see right through her. Sophia had a talent for this. Her father continued without noticing his wife's fake feelings._

"_My beautiful daughter has a big, big choice to make tonight. She must choose a husband as you all know. This is our Christmas present to her." He smiled down at her. She didn't even humor him with a fake smile in return. _

"_Do you want me wrapped and put under the tree, or just placed in your bed so we can get right to it?" A warm, unwelcome breath grazed over her bare neck. She shook in anger. She knew this dinner was going to be torture, she just didn't think it would start so soon._

_Her father continued to make his speech. He spoke with confidence and what he thought was power. He held his head a little too high, and his pig like nose stuck in the air. His voice was even sort of squeaky. Sophia looked across the table to her mother. She was staring right back at Sophia; her eyes intense with anger. _

_Sophia looked down at her hands once more. She noticed that her manicured finger nails were cutting into her palms. She loosened her grip and looked back at her father._

"_I, er, we sure do hope that the young men in the room will treat our daughter like the princess she is." Sophia tried hard not to roll her eyes. It took effort but she managed it. Princess? Ha! More like prisoner. Yes, please treat our daughter like the unhappy prisoner she is._

_The warm breath crept along her neck once more. She had to clench her hands hard to keep from bursting in anger. His voice was rough and unpleasant. His words were crude. _

"_You could be my princess, you know. You could make me a very happy man. I bet you're fantastic in bed. You are a virgin, aren't you?" She snapped her head to him. A curl fell out of place. He remained calm and smiled at her. He moved his hand to her face and pushed the curl to its proper position._

_She glared at him. He took no notice to it. He held his smile like a challenge. A challenge he would most likely win. _

_She knew he wanted her to snap. She knew he wanted her to make herself look bad. If she were to say anything to anyone about the horrible things he said to her, no one would believe her. They would turn a blind eye towards the couple. No! Not couple, that would imply that she wanted to be with him._

_She turned her glare into a small, tight smile. This must have been what he wanted because he turned his attention back to her father. She knew he wasn't listening to him. He never did anything he was supposed to._

_Be charming? Ha! Be polite? Double ha! Treat Sophia with the up most respect? You're getting crazy now. _

_She looked back down at her hands. What was she supposed to do again? Oh yeah, not let him get to her. Well that was going splendidly. _

_Her father must have finished his speech because he was now taking his seat. The servers served the first course of the four course meal. It was soup time. As the soup was set in front of her, she couldn't help was grimace._

_Pea soup. Yuck! There was nothing worse than the hot green substance. She looked down at it and wasn't sure what she should do. Move it around and make it look like she ate some sounded like the best plan. Actually eat it didn't sound so appealing to her. _

"_Eat your soup, Sophia. You're going to need your energy at its best tonight, especially for what I have planned." She dropped her spoon in the bowl and it made a large SPLAT sound. Pea soup splattered herself and Gavin. He huffed in annoyance. _

_She smiled to herself. Sophia, 1. Gavin, 0._

"_Sophia! Please be more careful." Her mother quietly scolded. An almost soundless chuckle came from the left of her. She wouldn't look over at Gavin. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction; after all she was winning in points._

_Turning her attention back to the horrible green poison in front of her, she thought of something. Maybe when she married Gavin, she would make him pea soup, and slip some poison in it. Maybe a few drops of arsenic. Yeah that should do. _

_Not that she would ever kill anyone. No one deserved to be murdered, even if some sure tested the boundaries. _

_She knew tonight was going to be terrible. She knew nothing would go in her favor. _

_So far, she was right. Like always._

* * *

Well, she was greeted by the back of the cowboy. She stopped short and accidentally scoffed her new, well, new to her, boots on the floor. The sound made the boy in front of her turn slightly. When he realized that she was out, and the sound didn't come from in the washroom he turned to her completely.

He looked down at what she was now wearing. It was a complete transformation.

Her hair, he now noticed, was a soft wavy, brown. It was long, and there was a lot of it. The blond in it now come through a little more, which brought out her eyes; like that needed to happen.

With out the make up, she looked just a bit younger. She looked to be about sixteen, maybe seventeen. She looked overwhelmed in the clothes she was wearing. They wore her, not the other way around. When she was in the dress her hips were pronounced, looking at her in his baggy shirt and the younger boy's pants, she didn't have much of a figure.

He nodded slightly thinking that this was a good thing. The less she looked like when she got here the better. If they were going to keep her safe here, she couldn't attract attention. That may be a problem though, he thought. She was stunning. She looked better without the make up, even if it was running down her face messily when he saw her before. She looked slightly more comfortable.

"You'se look comfy." He finally spoke, a grin across his face. She nodded very lightly. She wasn't sure how long she was staying but she knew these guys wouldn't let her stay for long. There were no other girls in sight, so she figured she would need to find somewhere else to stay. She would need to figure out where to stay as soon as possible.

She looked around to find the boy that saved her. She may not have known him, well, at all, but she was most comfortable around him. That was exaggerating since she wasn't very comfortable around him in the first place.

She spotted him in the same place he was before, still playing poker. She started walking towards him when she was stopped by the "cowboy." He stood in her way. He was very intimidating to her. He had a large body frame. Under is slightly baggy shirt, she could tell he was toned, even muscular.

His eyes made him look soft, though. They were a chocolate brown, warm and almost trusting. There was something very familiar about this boy. The way he stood in front of her, stopping her. The way he looked at her. None of his features were familiar, but the emotions running behind them were. She could feel the concern and wanting to help radiating off of him. He was definitely familiar. Who he was to her she had no idea. She knew she had never met him before in her life. She couldn't put her finger quite on it, but she would, eventually.

As he looked down on her, she looked less tense then when she had first arrived. He couldn't blame her, she looked less stiff, and she wasn't shaking from the cold anymore. She was trembling, but not as bad as before. He figured she was now warm, so the shaking was from fear.

He had to hand it to her. She was holding up pretty well. She hadn't broken down crying yet, nor had she started screaming and kicking. She was too quiet for his liking, and that scared him. Maybe her being so quiet was worse than her shouting and crying. Maybe he should be more worried, or this could be her in shock. He needed to know what happened to her. He desperately wanted to help this poor girl.

She just looked in his eyes. Her eyes were piercing. They made him feel on edge. He got uncomfortable. He figured she didn't mean to look that way and that she was just scared. The fear was evident. He wasn't that scary, was he? No, no, of course not. She was scared because she was in a room full of boys she didn't know, in clothing foreign to her, in a house she had never been to.

She probably had never been to this part of Manhattan. She was probably used to rich, clean, pristine housing, and snotty people. She didn't strike him as snotty. She didn't seem to look down at him, which could just be because she was so afraid. She just didn't seem like the type that would stick her nose up to him.

He shook his head, realizing they were just staring at one another. She probably thought of him as a freak for just staring at her for so long. Her stare didn't falter; her eyes had confusion running through them. He smiled warmly at her, knowing he should introduce himself.

"I'se Jack. Jack Kelly dat is. Ise da leadah heah. You'se in 'Hattan. We'se da 'Hattan newsies." He stood proud, but not cocky. She nodding, trying to process this. It wasn't a confusing string of sentences in the slightest, but what was he the leader of?

She obviously had no idea what he was talking about and he noticed this. He opened his mouth to explain further when the kid with the eye patch walked over to the duo. He stood next to Jack with his hand on Jack's shoulder. He watched the girl carefully.

She tried not to look at him for long. She didn't like the way he spoke to her before. He didn't seem too nice, and she definitely didn't want to get on anyone's bad side. Not when her fate was in their hands.

His mouth opened then closed. He must have thought better of his words, but then maybe not.

"Jack, she's one ah da hoity toity goils. She don't know what we'se arah. She don't know who we'se arah." She raised an eye brow to the kid with the eye patch. He made assumptions rather quickly. She should have defended herself, but where was her voice? Probably taking a vacation. He kind of glared at her, but held out his hand to her.

"I'se Kid Blink. Me friends call me Blink, but you'se can call me Kid Blink." She looked at his hand then at him. His hand looked almost identical to the boy's who save her. It was dirty and ink stained. She looked back at his face; he was looking sort of smug. He probably thought she wouldn't shake his hand.

She reluctantly took his hand and shook it. This seemed to surprise the two boys in front of her. Shock was written across their faces. Kid Blink slowly took his hand back, and nodded. Without saying anything more, he walked away.

Jack looked at the girl, and apologized for Kid Blink's rude attitude. She didn't respond. She looked down at her feet_. She sure don't show much emotion,_ Jack thought. He thought that introducing her to the rest of the newsies would be the best, so she could feel a little more comfortable. She seemed to be at a bit more ease. She wasn't completely comfortable in any way, but what little progress was made was enough for him.

Jack turned his back to her and whistled. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at their leader. The girl stood in amazement that so many boys listened to just one person. It finally dawned on her. He was leader of these boys, of these newsies. She mentally slapped herself. She turned her attention to the boy in front of her.

"Alwright! I'se gonna introduce this goil to all of you'se. So stay quiet fah five minutes." Jack put out his hand for the girl to take, which surprisingly she did, and lead her over the poker table. Her hand was warm in his. It was soft and smooth, just like he thought her skin would be. His on the other hand were rough and calloused. He cringed slightly when he realized this, but she didn't seem to mind very much.

All of the boys at the table, who were playing poker, looked up to their leader and the terrified girl standing next to him. They gave Jack their full, undivided attention. Seeming pleased, Jack went around the table and named each newsie there.

"Dat's Racetrack, Mush, Skittery, Jake, Bumlets and you'se alweady met Blink." She nodded to show that she caught all of their names. She didn't though. They were such odd names. Jack and Jake were normal names, but Mush, Racetrack, Kid Blink? Those were not normal names. Who named a child Bumlets? Wasn't a racetrack a place? How in the world were these names? She was very confused by this, but didn't show it. She didn't want to insult the owners of the odd names.

Jack took her over to some more newsies and started naming them, just like before.

"Dat's Snoddy, Dutchy, Swifty, Specs, Itey and Snitch." She nodded once again. The names were unbelievable. Was Jack playing a joke on her? All he had to say was" You cannot stay here, I'm sorry," if he really didn't want her to stay.

She instantly tensed at the thought. He must have felt the tension because he turned toward her. Questioning eyes looked down at her. She looked right back into those questioning eyes, feeling the familiarity of them. His eyes seem to speak unspoken words. She knew they asked if she was okay so she nodded. Looking at her a moment more he turned, tugging on her hand gently.

She followed him to a group of smaller, younger boys. Once again, he started naming them.

"Dis is Snipeshooter, Boots, Patches, Teddy, Socks, Crutchy, and last but not least Pie Eater." When he finished he turned to her and smiled. She just stared at him in disbelief. Her eyes looked confused and somewhat irritated. He laughed. She didn't show much emotion, but her eyes were kind of easy to read.

"Don't worry, da longa you'se stay, da fasta you'se will loin everyone's name. It takes a while, dat's all." The confusion stayed in her eyes, but the irritation was replaced by surprise. It was Jack's turn to look confused. What was so surprising about what he had just said?

He whistled once more and told everyone to go one with their activities. When he looked back at the girl she had the same face on. He narrowed his eyes and realized she must not have thought he wanted her to stay.

"You'se safe heah. I'se want you'se tah stay. Da oddah guys will warm up tah you'se. Don't worry 'bout dat. Dey will like ya, I'se promise." For some reason she actually believed his words. There was no sarcasm laced with them. They seemed to be completely honest.

The surprise left her eyes, as well as the confusion and fear. Jack noticed her eyes were now unreadable. They held no emotion, they just held his gaze. Feeling uncomfortable, he looked down. He really wanted to get to know her. Something pretty bad must have happened if a "hoity toity" girl ran away from home, and was willing to live with a bunch of newsies.

He held out his hand for the girl to take, and she did once again. This surprised him for a second time. She must have trusted him just a tiny bit, if she was willing to take his hand.

She was terribly confused. She hid any evidence that she was from Jack. She put up her walls again. She was used to this; she never showed what she was feeling to the men back at home. They didn't care how she felt or what she thought all they cared about was if she was willing to marry them.

Why did he want her to stay? What was in it for him? The bigger question was, were those their REAL names? They couldn't possibly be. They weren't real names, they were made up. Nicknames maybe.

She shook her head. Jack led the girl over to a bunk. The boy who had saved her came over, his name was Racetrack. The other boys called him Race. She made sure to catch his name specifically. With Race standing near her, she felt some what more comfortable.

Jack climbed up on to the top bunk and motioned for her to come up. She looked up at him, knowing there was no way she would be able to climb up to where he was. He smiled down at her, holding out his hand for her to take. She took it and felt him pull her up to him with no problem at all. It was almost as if she weighed no more than three pounds. She shifted next to him awkwardly until she was as comfortable as she was going to get.

Race smiled up to her, his eyes full of laughter. She was right about him not being intimidating. In fact, compared to Jack, he was a teddy bear. His whole demeanor was full of humor; no seriousness was detected from him. She found this quite comforting.

"So what's yer name?" Jack asked with a small smile. Her eyes went wide.

She wanted to answer him, honest! She couldn't find her voice again. This was beginning to be a slight problem. They probably thought she was a mute or something. If her voice would just come back from that damn unplanned vacation it took, she would feel better. She started panic. She didn't want them to think she was being rude.

She opened her mouth willing something to come out_. Anything voice, would be nice. _She thought. _I don't care what! Just say something! ANYTHING!_ Did her voice listen? Nope, it was probably tanning on the beach drinking a pina colada. She looked to her feet.

The two boys watched her struggle. Neither knew what to do. Jack looked from the girl to Racetrack. Race looked up to him and shrugged. Jack slowly put his hand on her arm, and she almost jumped off the bed. He quickly retracted his hand. He hadn't expected her to react like this. He tried a different approach.

"You'se don't 'have tah tell us yer name. If you'se mah comfortable wid us not knowing dat's fine." She looked at him almost thankful. She didn't want any of her past coming with her to this new place. If that meant changing her name, then so be it.

She nodded to him. Race spoke up this time. He was awfully quiet standing there. The humor never left his eyes.

"We'se need to dink of a name fah you'se though. You'se can't walk 'round widout ah name."She looked down at him as he looked to be in thought. He started to pace back and forth. She turned her attention back to the boy next to her.

Jack looked away almost instantly. He didn't like the piercing stare that she had. He knew it wasn't her fault, but it would take some time to get used to. Her cheeks turned pink then she looked down. He automatically felt terrible; she probably thought he didn't want to look at her. He was about to say something to her when Race spoke up.

"How's 'bout Raindrop?" She shook her head to that. She knew where he got it from. He found her in the rain. But she didn't want anything to remind her of today. When she woke up tomorrow, she wanted to start fresh. She wanted to forget about her life before this.

Race nodded and got back to thinking. A little boy came up to the trio. He was very short, with light blond hair and big, round green eyes. He looked up at the girl and smiled a big, toothy grin. She tried desperately to remember his name. It was hard considering they had such ridiculous names.

It had just dawned on her. She was about to get one of these ridiculous names herself. Maybe she could think of something relatively normal. She didn't want to end up with a name like Wet Puppy, or Trembles. The young boy spoke, which snapped her out of her naming thoughts.

"I'se Teddy! You'se can call me'se Ted though. What if you'se pick da name Holiday? It is Christmas aftah all." His cheeks grew pink and she almost smiled down at him. He couldn't have been more than five years old. He was cute, and looked so trusting. She shook her head slowly. Holiday would remind her of tonight. She felt bad saying no to the boy, but he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. He must not have been offended.

"What 'bout Lavendah? You'se knows, 'cause ah yer dress?" She shook her head once again. She though back to the dress and remembered she wanted to burn the blasted thing. Race looked stumped. He almost looked defeated. Jack spoke up for the first time in minutes.

"Sometins tellin' me'se dat you'se don't want anyding to remind you'se ah tonight. Is dat right?" He hit the nail right on the head. She nodded. She was shocked he caught on. Jack just nodded and rubbed his stubble. She looked away before he could.

He looked at her, and the attention made her look back to him. So much for the not looking. Her eyes caught him again. They reminded him of that stone. He couldn't think of the name of it. It was getting frustrating. He huffed.

She watched him think, but when his eyes narrowed at the floor she knew he was getting mad. His head shot up and he turned to the room full of boys. His eyes scanned the crowd. His wasn't finding who he was looking for, so he hopped off the bed.

He started to walk to the washroom. Sure enough as he was just about to walk through the door a shirtless boy came through. Jack stopped abruptly and put a hand on the kid's shoulder. They began talking in hushed voices. The shirtless boy looked confused. He shook his head.

Jack started to walk towards the bed again. His brow furrowed. He hopped right back onto his bed without effort. The girl figured he did this regularly so he was probably used to the height. He dropped his head in his hands and shook his head.

"'ey Cowboy, you'se dinking ah a name fah 'er?" Racetrack asked still pacing. Jack nodded his head, and then groaned. The girl stared at him, wondering why this was frustrating him.

Jack kept repeating _green stone green stone_ in his head. It wasn't helping much. He thought of diamonds but they weren't green. He thought of rubies, but they were red. Why was it so hard to figure out the damn stone's name?

He looked back to the girl. She was staring at him. Her eyes. He wanted to name her for her eyes. They had nothing to do with tonight; they have everything to do with her physical features.

Her unnerving green eyes. They looked so familiar, but he was sure that if he saw these eyes he wouldn't have forgotten them. Her right eye brow started to rise, and then he realized he was staring again. He dropped his gaze and looked at the floor.

"I'se can't dink of anyding." Jack finally admitted. He threw his hands in the air defeated. Race looked at him, shaking his head. He turned his attention to the girl. She was still staring at Jack. When she finally looked at him, he noticed she wasn't all that scared anymore. He smiled.

Jack hopped off the bed once more but this time he left the room. He went through the door that led to the stairs. She heard the stairs creak under his descend. She turned her attention back to Race. When she got a smile from him, she looked around the room.

The boys all seemed pretty well behaved. None of them looked mean. None looked like they were very interested in her. This was a good thing. She didn't want any unneeded attention put on her.

She looked for a clock. She didn't know what time it was. When she started running it was about 8:30. She wasn't sure how long she was running for and she wasn't sure how long she had been in the lodging house. Race must have noticed her searching for something, because he asked if she needed anything. She pointed to her wrist where a watch would be. He looked confused, furrowed his eye brows and shook his head.

She remembered she saw that he had a pocket watch while they were running. She hopped off the bed and stood next to him. She reached for the gold chain. He watched her carefully. He didn't know what she was doing.

When he saw she had her fingers pointed to the golden chain, he realized she asked for the time. He pulled out the watch and handed it to her. She looked at him in surprise and opened the watch. It read 12:17. Her eyes went wide. Three and a half hours?!

She heard the stairs creaking signaling Jack's return. He had a smile on his face. He must have asked to older man down stairs the thing that was frustrating him.

The girl handed the watch back to Racetrack, and turned to Jack. When he was just about to her he stopped short. He turned around with a frown. The girl furrowed her eye brows and watched him as he left the room again.

When he came back into view he was holding a thin gold locket in his hand. The girl rushed over to him and grabbed it out of his hands. Jack was taken back. He hadn't expected her to move so fast.

She slipped the locket around her neck and hid it in her shirt. She looked down at her feet. He noticed a pink tint coming over her cheeks. Jack made a note to ask her about that later. He had more pressing matters to deal with now.

He walked over to his bed and jumped up. He noticed Race watching the girl. She still had her head down.

"I'se axed Kloppman what da stone was dat's green an he said dat it was jade. So I'se dink dat yer name should be Jade, 'cause of yer eyes." At this the girl looked up. Jack looked down at her and smiled warmly.

"What do ya dink?" The girl thought about it. It didn't have anything to do with tonight. It seemed reasonable enough. It was the color of her eyes. She had even noticed this herself. Best of all, the name wasn't Wet Puppy or Trembles. It was a nice name. She liked it.

She looked at Jack and nodded. She accepted the name that was given to her. She was now Jade. Jack smiled again and hopped off the bed. She made a note that the boy couldn't sit still. He walked to the middle of the room.

He whistled once more and silenced his newsies. Everyone looked up at their leader. When he saw that he had everyone's attention he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Alwight, listen up. Wese has a new newsie heah. 'er name is Jade. She's gonna be staying wid us so if any of youse try anyding wid her, Ise will personally soak ya. Got it?"

Every newsie in the room nodded their understanding. They watched Jack for just a little longer, when her turned his back to them, they went back to their activities. Jack walked back to the newly named Jade. He held out his hand. She looked from his hand to his face. And eye brow raised slowly and she took his hand. He began shaking it, laughing.

"Jade, it's nice tah meetcha." She looked into his eyes and for the first time tonight she smiled.

She smiled a real, sincere smile. And boy did it feel good.

* * *

Tell me what you think!

Good, bad, alright. Tell me, all opinions are wanted.

**To bE mY HEaRt: **Thank you so much. (:I very happy that you like the story. And don't worry, I'll keep updating.

**Perfectly Dramatic: **I was trying to do something a little different than what I have read in the past, but I still wanted the story to be believable. I tried to think of how I would have reacted if I was Sophia. I try to put myself in the shoes of the characters I write for. I have had the idea for this story for years, but my writing, back then, wasn't up to par. I am finally confident in my writing and decided to write the story. I'm glad you like it so far. (:


	4. What do you want to know?

"_You need to learn some manners Sophia, nobody like a naughty girl." His voice traveled to her ears. He picked a napkin off the table and dabbed it in some water. As he cleaned himself off, Sophia stood up._

_Her mother scowled as Sophia pushed her chair in. Everyone sitting at the table was now staring at the young girl standing. She hated the attention that was on her. She bowed her head to her father excusing herself._

_As she walked past the servants and out the door, she heard hushed chattering. She had no doubt that she had just made her parents look bad, but she couldn't care less. She wasn't going to sit there all night listening to some jerk whisper crude things in her ear, or being the possible prize for any of the young men there._

_She walked toward the grand stair case when she was stopped by one of the many maids that lived in the house. What was this one's name? Something with an "A." Sophia knew that much. Anne? Anabel? Alexandria?_

"_Miss Sophia, shall I get another dress ready?" She looked almost hopeful. Sophia wondered if she actually enjoyed working as a maid. She wondered if she enjoyed cleaning the dishes, and dusting every day. Did she enjoy cleaning up after Sophia's father, or being yelled at by Sophia's mother? No one could possibly enjoy that. _

"_No, that's fine…" She trailed off hoping the maid wouldn't notice, but she had no such luck. She didn't want to seem mean, nor did she want to hurt this woman's feelings._

"_Mary-Sue." Ah! Mary-Sue. Close enough. There's an "A" in there._

_Sophia smiled slightly but continued to walk up the stairs. They were made of marble; sturdy, safe marble. She lifted her dress just enough to make her ascend to her room. Her feet made a light clap on the marble from her heels. She couldn't wait to get those damn things off. When in her room she would rip off this dress and put on a nightgown, get into bed and read until she fell asleep. That sounded a lot better than sitting at a dinner with Gavin, the Devil and her mother, the wicked witch, while her father stuffed his face and the rest of the guests studied her._

_She wasn't at all hungry. She felt sick and anything she would have eaten she would have ended up vomiting. She just wanted to read then fall asleep, a cup of tea would have been nice. She didn't want to think about anything that had to do with that dinner. What a disaster that turned out to be, as Sophia predicted. When she made little predictions about these sort of things, she was always right._

_Walking down the hall wasn't like before. Now, Sophia walked with a slight hop in her step. If getting into her nice warm bed was the most worthwhile part of her night then she was fine with that. She wanted nothing more than to snuggle up with her latest book and read._

_A large roar of laughter came up the stairs and reached Sophia. See? They could carry on without her. She wasn't needed down there. Her bed needed her. Her book needed her, and she needed them._

_When the wave of laughter came once again, Sophia was finally at her door. She pushed it open and quickly slid into her room. With her back against the door, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. Why her mother did this to her was beyond Sophia. She would tell her mother she hated these things, but like everything else she has said, it would go in through one ear and out the other._

_As she walked over to her bed, she noticed a letter on her dresser. She made note of it and continued to walk to her awaiting bed. She lifted the pillow that held her journal underneath it. Her golden locket fell out of it onto her bed, the one she snatched from her mother; she picked it up and pulled it over her head. Feeling the chain calmed her. She loved this locket. She loved nothing more than this necklace, and she wasn't sure where she got it from. _

_Her mother had tried to throw it away years ago but when Sophia screamed and attacked her, she gave the locket back. She has never been able to open it, but it was special to her none the less._

_Placing the journal back in its place, she turned to her dresser. The letter was folded up neatly and placed under her hand mirror. Carefully picking it up, she noticed it was slightly crumpled, like it had been in someone's pocket._

_Opening the letter was nerve racking. She thought it would be from Gavin, but he had no time to get up to her room and back downstairs since he had been there. He was always in her vision, unfortunately. Sophia opened the letter completely. It read:_

**_Dear Sophia,_**

**_ You have made a great choice by choosing Gavin. I wouldn't have had it any other way. He is simply the perfect match for you. You will respect him and do as he wishes, do you understand? You will appear happy when in public and when asked you will speak only wonderful things about him. You will be marrying him; there is no question about it. You will give Gavin your undivided attention, your love, your body, and anything else he asks of you. Your father and I will be leaving town for the remainder of the night, which means Gavin and yourself have the house to yourselves. You will not mess this up._**

**_ Love,_**

**_ Your Mother_**

_What?! This is ridiculous! No! This will not happen. It cannot happen! _

_Just as Sophia was trying to process the letter her mother had left her, the door creaked. She put the letter down and turned to see who the intruder was. _

_Her eyes hardened upon seeing him. She would not be spending the night or any other night with him._

"_I see you want to get right to it then. I knew you would give in sometime." Gavin stood in the doorway. His arms crossed, his body relaxed. He followed her! How creepy! She should have expected this. She didn't hear his footsteps, which was odd. She was sure she would have at least heard the clap of his heel on the floor from his shoes._

_Even if she wanted to marry the man, and by God did she not, she wouldn't have been happy. He wouldn't have stayed faithful. He would have had a mistress within the first week of their marriage. She wouldn't have been enough for him. _

_The look in his eye made her nervous. She knew she was cornered. She had to get out of the room. She didn't want to be alone with him. What the two of them wanted was very, very different. She wanted to read and he wanted to get under the covers with her. _

_She wouldn't give him what he wanted no matter what he did. She would fight him off if she had to. If he hit her, it wouldn't be the first time. There had been plenty of times where he hit her. She had bruises around her wrists from where he grabbed her. She could hold her own fight, just until help came. He never left a bad enough mark for people to question anything. He was good at that. He was a sneaky bastard._

"_Let's go to bed Sophia, you look absolutely exhausted. Come here, I'll take that beautiful dress off you." His voice was rough and unpleasant. His hands were out stretched towards her. She took a step back. Even though he was across the room from her, she wouldn't take any chances. _

_Thunder cracked outside, Gavin looked toward the window as did Sophia. She saw the rain hitting the window. It wasn't light drizzle either. The wind looked dreadful and the rain made seeing two feet in front of you hard._

_His eyes shifted from the window to the bed to Sophia and back again. There was no way she was getting in that bed with him. She would rather eat pea soup for every meal for the rest of her life if it meant she didn't have to sleep with this man. She would give her life if it meant she didn't have to be near the man._

"_Sophia, sweetheart, you're going to have to warm up to me sometime. We will be married after all. Your mother probably told you already, but I wanted to ask you myself." He got down on one knee and pulled out a ring. He looked at her from across the room, a smug smirk playing across his face. She squinted her eyes at him. She wasn't going anywhere near him, so what was he playing at? _

_He rolled his eyes and got up. He started closing the distance between them. Each step he took the more she froze up. She needed to think of something and fast. She need to get out of the room and near someone. _

_She could scream for help, but be probably told the maids to leave. She could fight him, but that would leave her vulnerable for his counter attack. He could easily over power her. A plan, she needed a plan._

_Thinking of any plan was futile. He had closed the gap between them, now standing a mere five feet in front of her. She held his gaze. She didn't want him to see that she was scared. She wanted to show no weaknesses._

_As much as she wanted to believe she could get out of this, she knew she was in trouble._

_She swallowed. He chuckled._

* * *

Jack tried to smile back, but he was too shocked. She smiled at him. She actually showed an emotion through her face, not her eyes. Speaking of eyes, they weren't as intense when she smiled. The edge was gone, and they were left a vibrant, pleasant green.

Her teeth were pearly white compared to anyone else's in the room. The boys' teeth looked rotted in comparison to hers. Her smile wasn't something he could describe. There were no words that he could come up with. He was utterly speechless.

His eyes then widened. He knew he had seen that smile somewhere; but where he wasn't sure. Where would the two of them met? He was sure it wasn't on the street, or in Tibby's or Medda's. He felt like her smile was very familiar; too familiar.

He finally smiled back, he had no choice. She could probably make someone who doesn't know what a smile is crack a grin; someone like Spot Conlon. That made him chuckle. He was sure he would figure out where he knew this girl.

In the mean time, he had more pressing issues. She hasn't spoken a word since she got there. He found this rather weird, considering the trauma she must have been going through. Running from a warm house, with all the food, money, and clothing she needed to the cold, raining streets of Manhattan had to have been scary. He thought she would want to get it all out, hear him say that she was safe. But she didn't say anything. He could tell she wanted to though. She had opened her mouth but then must have decided against it.

" Well, Jade, I'se gotta get back ta me game. I'll say g'night ta ya when you'se ready ta sleep." With that Racetrack walked back to the table of poker playing boys. Jade watched him leave. When she saw him sit down and pick up his hand of cards, she turned to Jack. She noticed he had been very quiet the past few minutes. He struck her as an outgoing person. His smile was easy going and comforting. She waited for him to say something, when he didn't say anything she turned her attention to the boys in the room.

Most of them were still awake. But the younger ones, including that little boy Teddy, were snug in their beds. Upon looking around she found a window. Still waiting for Jack to talk, Jade walked over to the window.

The rain had stopped, it was now lightly snowing. None of the snow was sticking to the ground or buildings because it was too wet. She knew it would be cold and icy tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, she had no idea what would happen to her.

Jack had mentioned that he wanted her to stay, but she didn't know if she wanted to. She wasn't sure if the guys here would ever warm up to her. Jack said they would, but she didn't know how they would treat her. She couldn't handle being treated like she was back at home.

She watched the empty streets, imagining what they would look like with sunlight hitting them. Surely they must be less scary. As of now, they looked like a perfect scene from a horror book. She could just picture Jack the Ripper strolling down the street right now, looking for his next victim.

Jack the Ripper. Jack! What if that's how he got his name! What if he's dangerous! She didn't know him, for all she knew; he had a stash of dead women in the basement. _Oh no, oh no. I'm going to die at the hands of a man I just met tonight. _She started to think of ways he could kill her. What a mind she had.

Jack watched her stand at the window. He wondered what could have been going through her mind. He was glad she ran through Manhattan and not Brooklyn or Harlem. She would have been in trouble, if not dead if she had. He knew she was safe right where she is, but she didn't.

He tried to think the way she was probably thinking. He knew she was scared; the tension in her shoulders told him that. The shaking had stopped which was a good sign. The way she crossed her arms across her chest told him that she was guarding herself, both physically and mentally. He was stumped about the not speaking part._ Maybe she don't wanna tell us anydin case we'se go tad a bulls. _Jack thought that made a lot of sense. She wouldn't want to be turned into the police. She was technically a runaway, a rich runaway but a runaway none the less.

He knew he had to talk to her, he just didn't know how to get through to her. He didn't want to make any sudden movements, or she may run. He didn't want to ask anything too personal, or she would clam up even more. He couldn't touch her or she would probably drop dead from fear.

Rape. She must have been raped. That's the only reason she wouldn't speak or let anyone touch her. It made too much sense. _Maybe I'se jumpin' ta conclusions._ She could have just been happy where she was for all he knew. She could just be mad at her mom so she ran away. It wouldn't be the first time. Jack had too many assumptions running through his head. He needed this girl to talk to him.

He shook his head and smiled. He could charm any girl in New York better than anyone…well…maybe not anyone… but almost anyone. He would try his hardest to make Jade comfortable.

He had killed her twelve times in her mind, each time more brutal than the next, before the assumed murderer came up behind her. She jumped a little when she saw his refection in the window. He had a big, sweet grin on. _No, he can't be a murderer. He looks way to nice. Wait, I bet that's how they all started. Yup, still going to die._ Jack must have found his voice, unlike Jade whose voice was still on vacation, because he spoke.

"Why don't we'se go somewheah private, so's we'se can tawk." Her eyes widened and she shook her head. Jack nodded, understanding her want to not be alone with a stranger, which supported his rape theory, but he needed to talk to her.

He never asked where the boys had come from due to the way they arrived. None of them arrived in such a mess, like Jade. None of them needed his protection; not that he thought Jade needed his protection, he just thought she would appreciate it.

The boys that stayed at the Manhattan lodging house all arrived out of poverty or losing their families. Jade was a rich, young woman who had a family from where she came from. There had to have been a reason why she was running. Race had said she was running from the police so Jack took that into consideration.

Her family must have wanted her back. Her parents would have the police looking for her tomorrow, if they're still not looking for her now. If she was going to stay, which he wasn't sure if she was or not, she would need to blend in with the crowd. He wanted to talk to her and see what was going on before he made any plans.

He wanted so desperately to help this poor girl but without her giving him any information about her situation, there wasn't much he could do. Maybe he had to talk to Race; she may have said something to him about what's going on. It's a stretch but a possibility.

He looked down at Jade. He didn't want to trick her or be mean but he had to. He had no other choice. He had to use one of his "street rat" talents. Bluffing, one thing every newsie was good at. He actually felt bad about what he was about to do.

"Well, I'se going ta go have a smoke. You'se come ta me'se when you'se ready ta tawk." He turned his back to her, walked out of the room and down the stairs. He wasn't sure if this would work. If it did, he would get what he wanted, if it didn't she would never talk to him which wouldn't help at all.

She watched him leave her. She stood next to the window, in a room full of boys, strangers. She didn't know what to do.

_Should I follow him? Maybe I should find Race. Where is he? Oh there he is. Maybe I should just leave. Yeah, I think l'll leave. I'll thank Jack for what he has done for me, Race as well, and I'll leave._ Jade had made her decision to leave.

She looked over at the card table and spotted Race. While walking up to the table, a few guys said "Hey, Jade!" and "Jade, where's Jack?" They said this like she had been living with them for years, like it was normal. Kid Blink even smiled at her.

"Jade, come join us." Race spoke over the roar of guys losing their money to him. Some grumbled but kept to themselves, others, like Blink, yelled at Race accusing him of cheating which he very well could have.

Jade shook her head and looked at the doorway Jack exited. _Maybe I should just talk to Jack. I don't have tell him everything, I could just tell him what he needs to know. Yeah, maybe I could do this. Maybe I don't have to leave just yet._

Walking toward the door Jade fingered the locket around her neck. She knew she wouldn't tell Jack everything, but she would have to tell someone. She had a dark past, one she didn't want to bring up to anyone, but she really needed to. Maybe if she told a complete stranger she would feel a little better. She could tell a stranger her story then leave him or her, never having to speak to him or her again. Maybe telling a stranger was better than keeping it bottle up.

She walked down the stairs, still playing with her necklace. As she walked down, the stairs creaked and groaned She didn't trust them to hold up her, how these boys trusted these stairs to hold them up was beyond her.

The room, which she figured was the lobby, was empty. The old man that was once sitting, reading behind the dusty old desk was gone. The fire that was going before was now just a pile of embers. The room was still warm. The room looked desolate, and eerie.

The entrance door was cracked open just slightly, enough for Jade to know where Jack was. She felt the chilly December air coming through the small crack.

She opened the door just a little bit more, when she smelled the smoke from a cigarette she knew there was no going back.

The air was frigid; Jade didn't know how Jack could sit out here just for a smoke. Her hands were surly going to go numb as well as every other body part.

She looked up at the sky. There were barely any stars in the sky, and the snow falling came down consistently. The small white flakes falling melted on her outstretched hands, landed in her hair, and covered the boy sitting in front of her.

His hair was almost covered in snow. His shoulders were broad, and stiff. He wasn't shivering, just sitting there smoking. He didn't seem to be phased by either the snow or the below zero weather.

She knew he knew she was there. She didn't know whether or not he would speak first, or if he was waiting for her to start the conversation. Thinking of what he said before he walked away she presumed he was waiting for her to speak. It was only fair that she told him what he was getting involved with.

She moved to the step where Jack sat and took a seat next to him. She brought her knees to her chest and sighed. She knew she had to tell him something. She had to tell him anything, just something small.

"What do you want to know?" She murmured. She wasn't sure what he would ask, but she told herself that she will answer anything he asked her. She owed him that much.

He didn't say anything. He just sat there taking drags of his cigarette. She turned to look at him. He stared ahead of him, not appearing in thought. He just stared. She turned and stared where he was staring. She saw nothing.

She looked at the dark, wet street. It was ghostly, like no one has walked on these streets for years. She had never been in this part of Manhattan. She almost wished she was back at home. Key word n that sentence ALMOST. It wasn't as scary there, just a lot more mortifying. She wondered what was in store for her tomorrow. Jack shifted slightly which caught Jade's attention.

"Anytin. Tell me anytin." He looked towards her. They stared straight into one another's eyes. It wasn't the first time tonight this had happened. This time it was different though. His eyes didn't have an underlining of laughter, or any humor. They were desperate. She felt the need from him. He needed something from her and she knew what.

"I'm scared." She looked at her hands. She had started picking at her nails, a habit of nervousness.

"Sometin else." He knew she had no idea what to say. He should have asked why she was running, or where she came from, but he couldn't. He realized that she needed to be the one to pick what she wanted him to know and what she didn't want him to know.

Jade gazed forward to the empty street. She watched the snow fall to the ground. She didn't know how to explain anything. She knew she was scared and she knew she could explain it. She was sure of it. She wasn't sure of what she should tell the Manhattan leader.

Jack watched as Jade spaced out. She was so focused on nothing that she could have been mistaken as focusing on something. He squinted his eyes as he noticed that she seemed sad. Her eyes were cast down, and her lip was as well. She must be thinking of something that had happened earlier. She cleared her throat not moving her stare.

Her hair was covered in the snow that covers his hair. As he watched her hair turn white from the covering he followed her hairs length. And boy did she have a lot of hair. It looked soft; he could almost feel it in his hands. His attention was jerked back to her face when she spoke.

"I…" She didn't finish. She couldn't finish. A tear slid down her cheek. Jack was prepared for her to cry. He expected it to have happened a lot earlier. He knew it would have happened sometime. For some reason she was holding her tears back, she wouldn't let herself cry. He watched her struggle with herself. He wanted to rub her back and tell her it would be okay but he knew that wouldn't go over to well with her.

"Do you'se wanna stay heah?" He figured he would have a lead the conversation. He would have done anything at this point to know what was going on with the girl next to him. Seeing her fight herself made him want to make whoever did this pay.

"If it's no trouble, I…don't want to cause any problems." Jack nodded. Even if she said no, he would have convinced her otherwise.

"I'se want you'se ta stay. You'se won't be no trouble, honest." Jade smiled a tiny smile. Jack almost missed it.

They sat in silence once more. Jack knew he would have to talk to his newsies about protecting Jade. He was sure they wouldn't have a problem with it; he was more worried about Jade. He didn't want her to be afraid of the guy he assigns to protect her that day.

"We'se will protect ya, if you'se don't mind. We'se will make shoah da bulls won't getcha." She turned to him. She thought that was a lot to ask for, even if he did offer. She shook her head. He wouldn't take no for an answer.

"No, I'se serious. I'll make shoah dere's always a newsie widcha. It won't be no trouble." He smiled to reassure her, which worked to some degree. She sighed. _Maybe this would work out; maybe I just need to let him help._

"Wheah ah you'se from? Coitenly not 'round heah." She smiled at that. The seriousness in his eyes was still there but the laughter was back. _Well I might as well answer his questions. Here goes nothing._

"I'm from Upper Manhattan." Jack nodded, he figured as much.

"Wheah were you'se plannin' on goin'?" Jade shrugged. She had no clue where she would have went if Racetrack hadn't found her. She probably would have been dragged back to the hellhole.

"Why were you'se runnin'?" Jade shifted. She grabbed her locket then stood up. She paced in front of Jack. He silently watched her burn a hole in the ground. He knew the question was going to be hard for her to answer but he had to know. He needed to if he wanted to help her.

She paced for what seemed like an hour, which was actually ten minutes. She didn't know where to start. Gavin was a good place, but there was also her mother and father; not to mention the protocol and parties, arranged marriages and what felt like imprisonment.

_I have to tell him. I have to tell someone or it will kill me. I need to learn to trust him. Jack only wants to help, he won't turn me into the police. He could possibly help. I could actually make a friend. Maybe I could gain a family from living here, a real family. That would be heaven._

She sat back down next to the newsie. A sigh escaped her lips. She looked at him knowing she had to do this. She needed his help.

"It's quite a story. Are you ready?" Jack slowly nodded. He was going to listen to every detail and figure out how to help the small girl in front of him.

She closed her eyes, let out a breath and began her story.

* * *

**I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. I have been working and planning a vacation to Florida with my boyfriend, so it's been hectic. Not only that, but my computer had broke and I didn't have one for the longest time. I just bought a laptop so I'm back! (:**

Tell me what you think.

**To bE mY HEaRt:** She was in shock, that's why she wouldn't talk. You will also find out why she didn't run away earlier in the next chapter.

**A-Bookworm-Named-Steph:** I hope it doesn't get boring to you. I'm trying to keep it interesting.

**Lilmissmessy:** Thank you so much! I will update as much as possible.

Everyone's reviews help me, so keep on reviewing! Thank you, it means so much.


End file.
